1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a point-of-purchase device capable of either dispensing a coupon, product information sheet, or the like or activating one or more display elements. More specifically, the present invention is a motion sensor arrangement, including sensors and power management circuitry for use with a shelf-mountable display device, which is capable of activating lights, message panel, movable display element, and/or a dispenser of consumer relevant information after sensing the presence of a person, and thereafter returning lights, panel, movable display element, and/or powered dispenser to a power savings mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Shelf-mountable, point-of-purchase displays include compact devices configured for attachment to shelving in supermarkets or the like so as to encourage the purchase of a product by a shopper. Exemplary devices include the coupon dispenser described by Kringel in U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,765, the advertising display mounting device described by Kringel in U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,289, and the Shelfvision Take One display with optional removable product information sheets and coupons sold by SmartSource Marketing, A Division of News Corporation.
FIG. 1 shows another shelf-mountable display unit 1 sold by News America Marketing under model no. ICMA015. The unit is attachable to a shelf via a shelf clip 2 and includes a housing 7 disposed about either a manual or motorized coupon ejection mechanism. Consumers are attracted to the shelf-mountable display unit 1 via a changeable decorative cover 3, a sample coupon 4 mounted to the front face of the housing 7, and a coupon 5 partially extended from a slot 13 within the housing 7.
Presently known devices have several disadvantages caused by their simplistic operational designs. Display units are unable to sense the nearby presence of a consumer and therefore incapable of automatically dispensing a coupon or the like and activating light or motion display elements in a controlled and energy efficiency manner. Accordingly, the passive functionality of shelf-mounted display units discourages interactions with shoppers. Furthermore, power consumption by powered devices is not optimal due to the absence of power conservation hardware and software. The disadvantages in total indicate that presently known devices are of marginal benefit in most retail settings
Accordingly, what is not appreciated in the related art is the need for a motion sensor arrangement that automatically activates visual queues and/or dispenses coupons or the like after sensing the presence of a consumer so as to overcome the detriments noted above.